Vibrational bowl feeders typically hold a supply of electronic devices, and the electronic devices are conveyed from the bowl feeders to other locations along guide tracks linked to the bowl feeders for further processing. Translational motion of the electronic devices along the guide tracks is actuated by vibrating the bowl feeders and guide tracks towards pick-up positions at the end of the guide tracks. Currently, electronic devices fed by vibrational bowl feeders along guide tracks are typically separated by using hard stoppers and/or vacuum suction inlets on the guide tracks for separation of an electronic device at a pick-up position and another electronic device adjacent to it. The separation of the two electronic devices ensures that there is no overlap between them, which may result in jamming or failure to properly pick up the electronic device at the pick-up position.
However, for protruded ball grid array devices which have interconnectors such as solder bumps protruding from one side of the devices, the apparatus has increased difficulty with maintaining separation between the adjacent electronic devices. For instance, the use of hard stoppers is not desirable as the interconnectors are typically not robust enough to sustain a large pressing force which is required to stop the device.
When the solder bumps on the electronic devices are facing downwards on the guide track, a vacuum suction inlet located in the guide track is also ineffective as there will be an incomplete seal from gaps between the protruding interconnectors and the vacuum suction inlet.
Thus, there lacks a solution for separating protruded ball grid array devices on such a guide track next to the pick-up position thereof.